


Time Stops

by PinkAnon (RedRedRover), RedRedRover



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff, Gen, i wanted to write a bunch ot time stops moments and no one can stop me, meet cutes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:21:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRedRover/pseuds/PinkAnon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRedRover/pseuds/RedRedRover
Summary: I love scenes in movies where the protagonist meets the romantic interest for the first time and everything seems to slow down as beautiful music plays and I think every character in haikyuu deserves a moment like that
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Reader, Kita Shinsuke/Reader, Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader
Kudos: 111





	1. Kita Shinsuke

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is a kinda-sorta series I'm doing cause I really love Haikyuu and all the characters so very, very much. Each chapter will focus on a different Haikyuu guy having his 'time stops' moment, falling in love over silly little things. I live for fluff and I'll die for fluff. My friend Flower suggested I write Kita's first so all you Kita lovers out there can thank her for influencing me! 
> 
> Crossposted on my tumblr, pinkanonwrites.tumblr.com

With one hand resting over his eyes to look over the field and the other resting lazily on his hip, Kita breathed a contented sigh. Truth be told, he really hadn’t known how much work farming actually was when he’d decided to follow that route. No amount of preparation or study could truly ready someone for the amount of back-breaking work that rice farming entailed.

But despite that, when standing knee-deep in the paddy fields on a refreshingly cool summer morning, just as the sun began to peer over the horizon to chase off the morning dew, Kita was perfectly content.

... _ Almost  _ perfectly content.

He sighed, again. Less in satisfaction this time and more in frustration. This was what he wanted, right? This peace, this tranquility?

It was. It most certainly was. But there was some piece of the puzzle that was still just… Missing. The hustle and bustle of city life? The raw excitement poured upon him each day by his former teammates? Some sort of… energy was missing. Some sort of… charge.

“KUMA! DON’T EVEN  _ THINK _ ABOUT IT!”

Startled from his reverie by a nearby shout of distress, Kita couldn’t help but let his gaze wander through the morning fog and over towards a nearby walking path, rarely inhabited at this time of day. And yet, barreling through the mist came an unfamiliar figure being towed by a very familiar dog.

Everyone in town knew Kuma. It was hard not to. The gargantuan malamute dog was practically a social figure at this point. Legally he belonged to the Maita family, an elderly couple who lived on the hill on the outskirts of town. But he was well-known among the local farmers for being at most an unstoppable terror of paws and fur, and at least a lovable nuisance with a nose for everyone’s business.

He’d yet to cause Kita any personal trouble, but he had spotted the dog on more than one occasion muddying his brilliant white fur in the puddles on the outskirts of the paddy. No harm done, and no more than a mess for his owners to tend to.

“KUMA, I SWEAR TO GOD!”

That wasn’t Mr. or Mrs. Maida being dragged down the pathway by Kuma’s straining leash, however. This person was much too young, much too energetic. No, despite knowing nearly everyone in their small town of less than 100 people by name, Kita suddenly found himself being presented with somebody  _ new _ .

And before he could do so much as raise a hand in a neighborly wave, Kuma was dragging them over the side of the bluff and they tumbled, dog and all, face first into the rice paddy with a muddy splash.

Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit  _ shit _ .

He was wading towards the mud-soaked figure before he even realized he was moving, kicking up waves of water that were sure to ripple back into his boots but now wasn’t the time to be careful. Kuma’s walker was on their knees in the paddy, hunched over and shaking just the tiniest bit. Did they get hurt? Maybe they twisted their ankle, and couldn't stand on the sinking mud. Just as he started to get within range to help the stranger to their feet, he heard it.

Laughter.

Sitting in the muddy water, caked in soil and dripping from head to toe, they were laughing. Absolutely cracking up and leaning on Kuma for support as he wriggled and snuffled around them. They raised their head to shake their muddied hair and finally saw Kita standing there. All they could offer him was a small and sheepish grin.

And time stopped.

For Kita at least. While you pulled yourself to your feet and offered him an embarrassed apology for both you and Kuma’s antics, all Kita could hear in his ears was his own heartbeat.  _ What is this? _ His face felt hot, despite the cool morning breeze, and now maybe he was the one shaking.

“Are you alright?”

He snapped from his internal panic, and time caught back up.

“I should be asking you that.”

You shrugged, shaking like a dog and letting drops of water scatter through the paddy. “Eh, it’s just mud. I’m pretty sure I’ll survive.”

“Ah.”

You both stood there in silence for a long moment while Kuma splashed happily around your feet, reveling in any extra seconds of mud time the two of you were willing to give him.

“You’re not from around here.” He finally croaked out.

“Hm? Oh, no. My grandpa and Mr. Maida are old friends. They needed someone to dogsit cause Mrs. Maida is getting surgery, so I’ll be keeping the house for them for a few weeks.” You introduced yourself, and offered a muddied hand to one of Kita’s gloved ones, which he took without hesitation.

“If you’d like I could bring you some rice this evening. As a welcome gift. I’m a rice farmer.”

You chuckled. “I can see that. What’s your name?”

He blushed again, tipping his hat down just a bit in hopes that you wouldn’t notice. “Kita. Kita Shinsuke.”

“Nice to meet you, Kita-san!”

“You as well.”

“Welp…” You hooked two fingers under Kuma’s collar and began gently tugging him from the water. “I better get the troublemaker here back home and wash him up. I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah. See you around.”

As you stumbled back up the bluff you turned and gave Kita a grin, pointing to your cheeks. “Maybe put on a little sunscreen! You’re already getting red!”

Ah. You did notice.

“Will do. Try not to fall into any more fields on your way back.”

“No promises!”

He stood by the edge of the field and watched you and Kuma make your way back down the road, until he could no longer see you through the mist. Then, with another contented sigh, Kita got back to work.

He needed to finish everything on time if he wanted to deliver that rice to you later, after all.


	2. Azumane Asahi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up is a chapter starring our favorite gentle giant ace! I already had these first two chapters written up so it may be a little longer in between this chapter and the next!

It’d taken Asahi plenty of time to shake off the majority of his skittish nature. Sure, there were still a handful of things that would cause him to worry now and again, don’t get him wrong, but during his years in college he’d spent plenty of time practicing rewiring his brain to not immediately expect the worst of situations.

Of course, that being said, there’s not much to trust in a strange figure hunched by a dumpster at 8 in the morning.

He’d passed the alleyway plenty of times before, both early in the morning and late into the evening, during the walk from the train station to his office building. But on this morning there was…  _ something _ lurking in the alleyway as he strolled past it. Someone curled up on the dirty concrete.

‘ _ It’s a dead body! _ ’ His accursed brain eagerly provided.

‘It’s  _ not _ a dead body.’

‘ _ A knife-wielding maniac! _ ’

‘I should see if they’re okay.’

‘ _ What? And risk getting stabbed? _ ’

‘They could be hurt.’

This mental tug of war continued for a few moments more, Asahi hesitantly putting a foot in the alley’s direction and pulling it away about a half dozen times before he took a shuddering breath, steeled his nerves, and took a few steps forward.

And no, his knees  _ weren’t _ shaking, thank you very much.

As he inched closer, super  _ definitely _ not shaking, he could hear a small, hushed voice speaking in an ever-so-gentle tone.

“It’s okay, little baby. I’m not gonna hurt you. Come here!”

Another step closer and he could finally make out how the figure was laying, flat on their stomach with an arm all the way under the dumpster, head turned to peer into the darkness beneath it as they made kissy noises into the void.

“Poor little pumpkin, I’ll get you outta there. Don’t be scared!”

Confused (and ignoring the voice in his head that hollered they must be on drugs) Asahi was about to ask if they were okay when suddenly…

“Gotcha! Shh shh shh, it’s okay! I got you…”

A cacophony of panicked mewing erupted from beneath the dumpster as you shifted your arm and pulled it back, revealing in your grip a small, orange kitten with its head stuck inside a tin can. You sat up and cradled the kitten in your arms, continuing to make soothing shushing noises as you carefully worked the can off its head.

“There you go pumpkin, isn’t that all better?”

With the crying kitten in your arms you moved to sit up properly, only now noticing someone standing in the alleyway entrance. You glanced up to meet Asahi’s gaze.

And time stopped.

For about a second.

And then you screamed.

Asahi immediately began spewing out apologies, his entire face burning red as he took a few steps back. You looked equally as embarrassed as you stumbled to your feet, frantically spouting apologies of your own.

“Oh god I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to scare you I thought maybe you were hurt and-!”

“Ah I didn’t mean to startle you I just didn’t hear you come up and when you were suddenly right there I panicked and-!”

“No I shouldn’t have been lurking so weirdly it’s completely fine!”

“I was laying down in an alleyway, you had every right to be concerned!”

It took the kitten snuggled in your arms letting out a loud, irritated hiss before the two of you realized just how ridiculous you must have looked, and quickly clammed up. You quietly began shushing the kitten again and Asahi frantically unraveled his scarf from around his neck.

“H-Here, he’s getting your shirt all muddy.”

“Oh! You don’t have to…”

“It’s fine, I’m in need of a new scarf anyway.”

“Thank you.”

The two of you carefully wrapped up the kitten, Asahi’s heart rate spiking whenever your hands just so happened to touch. When the kitten was satisfiably bundled in a scarf burrito you tucked it close to your chest again, scratching it gently behind the ear.

“Poor baby… I wonder why it isn’t with its mama.” You cooed.

“There’s a lot of stray cats in this area. He might’ve been left behind when he got stuck.”

“That’s so sad…” You mused for a moment, watching the kitten lean into your warm touch. Finally you looked up to Asahi again. “I don’t suppose you know where there may be a shelter nearby? Or a vet?”

It just so happened that he  _ did _ know of a vet, a small clinic just two buildings down from his own, one that again, he passed every day on his way to work.

“I can walk you, if you’d like. I’m headed that direction anyway.”

“That’d be amazing, thank you.”

As the two of you walked you took the time to introduce yourselves. You were still pretty new to the area, having been moved further into the city for work, and Asahi had been working for a few months now at a relatively well-known design company. He blushed when you matter-of-factly stated that he must be a pretty big deal to get to work at a place like that.

“Ah, no, nothing like that. I just work hard.”

“That’s a good trait to have! Don’t sell yourself short, Azumane-san.”

At the door to the clinic he paused, hand awkwardly on the door handle. He didn’t want to head to work just yet. But he  _ had _ to. But if he left now he may never get the opportunity to speak to you again.

“W-Will you be waiting here?” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

“Oh! Yeah, just to see if he’s gonna be alright.”

“I, uh, I work just down there.” He pointed to the office building two doors down. “I’ll swing by during my lunch break and see how you’re doing. How  _ he’s _ doing. The kitten, I mean. If that’s okay with you.”

You chuckled. “Of course. I’ll see you then.” You held the kitten up to him so the two of them were nose-to-nose. “Say bye, Pumpkin!”

The kitten mewled and wiggled a paw free to pat it on Asahi’s nose.

“Aw, he likes you. See you in a few hours, Azumane-san.”

“Y-Yeah. See you.”

Once you stepped into the clinic he let the door swing closed behind you, before heading to his office with an uncharacteristic spring in his step.


	3. Kuroo Tetsurou

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next in the order is Kuroo!!! I had a lot of fun writing this one, but I say that for everything I write I think.

On days when the sun was beaming down from up above and it was just too nice to stay inside, and Kuroo was just too  _ lazy _ to walk somewhere to get lunch, he would sit on a bench in a park across the street from his office building after grabbing whatever was available in the cafeteria, and have his lunch in the sunshine.

He'd always been the type to enjoy people-watching. As he chowed on his riceballs and little plastic container full of sliced strawberries, he'd like to imagine little stories to himself for the people who passed by.

There were the typicals, little old ladies enjoying the weather and jogger moms walking the dogs that their kids had begged them for, raucous groups of kids that swarmed the playground with reckless enthusiasm and young couples who couldn't take their eyes off each other as they strolled, even if it meant that one of them walked face-first into a lamp post.

He swears he didn't laugh. Well, not  _ loud _ .

Today he was having lunch a little later than usual, and the park playground was covered in elementary school boys who had abandoned their backpacks in the grass on their way home to scramble and climb around the various slides and monkey bars. Before he could even start coming up with a story one seemed to come directly to him.

"Let's play knights and dragons!" One of them hollered.

"No way! You always get to be the knights and I'm stuck being the stupid dragon."

"You're a good dragon! And you're the biggest, it only makes sense."

The tall little boy stomped his foot, visibly frustrated. "No! I wanna be a knight!"

"Well I don't wanna be a stinky old dragon!"

"Me neither!"

The little disagreement was slowly starting to ball into a full grown fight, the group beginning to yell and hurl playground insults at each other, only growling louder and more frustrated with each moment.

Kuroo took a bite of his riceball and hummed, quietly. He didn't remember being this rowdy as a kid. Well, Kenma was quick to shut down any arguments with cold logic, so they didn't have much ground to stand on to begin with.

Out of the corner of his eye Kuroo watched a figure on the next bench over stand up and dust themselves off before walking over to the arguing boys. Maybe a parent? No, looked too young. An older sibling, perhaps. Kuroo hoped they weren't going to give these kids too hard of a time. They were kids, after all.

"Hey, what's all this yelling about? Shouldn't you all be having fun?" You knelt down to the boys' height with a warm smile that made Kuroo's own heart feel just a bit more cozy.

The little boy who the others were pushing to be their dragon sniffled, wiping at his cheeks. "I don't wanna be the dragon anymore. I don't wanna be a bad guy."

"Ah, I see. It's tough to have an epic battle without a big dragon to fight, isn't it?"

The other boys began nodding in agreement.

"Then I guess…" You stood up and scooped the boy under both arms, lifting him until he was dangling off the ground. "The mighty  _ King Dragon  _ will have to step in! And I have already captured one of your brave knights!"

The boys all glanced at each other, visibly confused.

"Well don't just stand there! I've got one of your knights and I'm gonna gobble him right up!"

One boy stepped forward, holding his hand out like he was brandishing an invisible sword. "Oh no you won't, King Dragon! We're going to save our knight and the whole kingdom!"

"Then you'll have to catch me first!"

You took off around the playground, the boy in your arms squealing and playfully calling for his fellow knights as a swarm of kids began chasing after you, bellowing war cries.

And Kuroo's heart stopped.

The afternoon breeze ruffled your hair as you ran, your smile so big and brilliant Kuroo swore it would split your face right in two. And the entire time you ran you kept calling out playful taunts and cheers to the boys behind you, until one of them pounced on your legs and you all went down in a clumsy heap.

Kuroo bolted to his feet, heart racing. But from within the swarm of kids he could see you sticking both hands in the air, waxing poetic.

"Ahh, of course King Dragon was no match for the great playground knights! How foolish was I. Truly they are the mightiest of champions!"

You slumped into the grass and dramatically faked your death as the boys cheered and jumped around you. The boy who usually played the dragon was holding hands with the boy who had prompted the game and jumping up and down.

"I wanna be the dragon next!" The second boy yelled. "And I'm gonna kidnap a knight if you aren't ready!"

"Go forth, my dragon disciple." You called from where you were sprawled in the grass. "Go forth and wreak havoc!"

Like a swarm of bugs the boys took off, scampering and hollering and scrambling all over the playground. For a long moment you simply laid there in the grass, catching your breath. But finally, you hauled yourself to a sitting position and then to your feet, brushing the grass off of your jeans and back before glancing up and making direct eye contact with Kuroo.

His heart almost leapt out of his chest.

Then you gave him a sheepish smile and he was sure his heart had stopped entirely.

"Well, that was fun." You finished dusting yourself off and moved towards him, taking a seat beside Kuroo on his bench. He swallowed hard, not sure if the lump in his throat was nerves or the rice ball.

"You're pretty good with kids, aren't you?" 

"Eh, it's not that hard. The key is to treat 'em like they're people. Most adults seem to forget that."

"Huh."

The two of you were quiet for a moment, just listening to the sounds of the kids playing and birds chirping in the treetops.

"I don't think I've ever seen someone take a tackle like that." Kuroo joked. "Not in person, at least."

You laughed. "I don't think I've ever  _ taken  _ a tackle,  _ ever! _ Like, was I that crazy when I was a kid?"

"I was thinking the same thing!"

The two of you laughed, Kuroo's stomach feeling warm and full of butterflies in the best possible way.

"I'm Kuroo." He stuck his hand out to yours. "I work over at that office and I'm taking advantage of the sunshine."

You took his hand and offered your own introduction. "I'm off work today and  _ also  _ taking advantage of the weather. Great minds think alike."

Kuroo smiled before glancing down at his phone. He really should be getting back to work.

"Lunch bell already?" You teased.

"Ah, yeah. Grind never stops."

You snorted, and the two of you got to your feet, Kuroo gathering up his lunchbox. He  really  would've liked to keep talking to you, to learn how you got so good with kids, if it was part of your job, if you were seeing anyone at the moment and if you had a preference for tall, dark-haired guys who were easily swooned by your antics.

"Guess I'll see you around?" He offered instead.

You smiled, that same brilliant smile that turned Kuroo's heart to jelly. "Yeah. Now I know where to go when I'm looking for some fun company."

"Or, you know, if you're in the mood to be tackled by twelve 3rd graders."

"Either works. See you around, Kuroo!"

And with a final wave over each of your shoulders the two of you were heading in opposite directions out of the park, Kuroo feeling lighter on his feet than he had in a long while. Looks like he'd be having his lunch breaks outside for a  _ looooong  _ time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Chapter 4 will feature Aone!


End file.
